TFP A Friend In Need
by blitz-engel
Summary: After Season 2 Finale-Smokescreen is alone after escaping the Destruction of the Autobot base and while running from Vehicons, he ends up a terrible crash. What can he do if he can't transform because his T-Cog was smashed? When he gets bought by a girl named Carlee?
1. Chapter 1

**Transformers Prime:** A Friend In Need  
**Rating:** T for some strong language, some violence, gang related situations, and some adult themes  
**Genre:** Friendship/Drama  
**Short Summary:**  
After Season 2 Finale-Smokescreen is alone after escaping the Destruction of the Autobot base and while running from Vehicons, he ends up a terrible crash. What can he do if he can't transform because his T-Cog was smashed? When he gets bought by a girl named Carlee?

* * *

_**::Chapter One::**_

* * *

It was really crazy that things were turning out this way. Especially only right after he had just joined Team Prime and now things were turning sour. Terribly sour.

Smokescreen wanted nothing more than to just stop running into the Ground Bridge and turn back, refusing to run. He wanted to stand with Optimus Prime in their darkest hour. He didn't want to run away but fight the final moment. Even as what Megatron called New Kaon rose right outside the soon to be destroyed Autobot Base. He wanted to see his final hour to be glorious like he swore it would be, not running away.

But nonetheless, here he was. Speeding through the Ground Bridge, glancing back one last time at Optimus as he stood in his full glory, watching him go.

A sigh vented out of Smokescreen as he looked ahead to see the cyan vortex open up into darkness. He didn't know where he was going to be landing but he just hoped that he would be able to find the others as soon as possible. He didn't have the same experience as the others did for this planet. Not that he couldn't handle it. He was...dare he say it again, destined for greatness. Right?

But how great could his destiny be if he couldn't fight alongside Optimus Prime like he envisioned it?

Smokescreen set himself in determination. He couldn't think about it. 'No way!' He thought to himself. 'Optimus Prime will survive! There was no way he would deactivate from this! He was a Prime! The Optimus Prime! He will survive this and we will be together again! Me! Optimus Prime! Ratchet! Bulk! Bumblebee! Arcee! And maybe Wheeljack. Though I still don't know about that rogue.' He added in thought. 'And the kids! Jack, Miko, and Raf! We will be fine and we will take out the Decepticreeps once and for all!'

With that uplifted thought, Smokescreen sped forward until he escaped the vortex, slamming on his brakes to look back again just as the brilliance of green light winked out.

For a moment, Smokescreen sat there, in the night darkness, wondering just where he had been dropped off to. It was very dark where he was at and he could barely see his surroundings with on his HUD.

Oh wait. He needed to adjust his visionary status.

'Duh!' Smokescreen thought dumbly in embarrassment as he activated his night time visionary program. He was kind of glad no one was around to witness his moment of...what would be a good word for this situation? Ah, let's just call it embarrassment.

Looking around with his scanners, Smokescreen saw only trees and hills. He frowned to himself, still looking around before realizing he was in a rocky terrain slash desert of some kind. He still didn't have a clue where he was.

"Right. First things first. Rule number one on being sent on a mission, scout the area. Find out your location." Smokescreen spoke to himself before he started moving. "Rule number two, blend in surroundings. Do not reveal yourself unless attacked by Decepticreeps. Blend in. Blend in. Blend in...blend in what?!" He groaned before just driving. He flipped on his bright head lights. "Now where is the road? Is there even a road here?"

Unfortunately, it seemed that Ratchet had just put in random coordinates because it took an hour to even find a road. And it wasn't like Smokescreen could transform at the moment. He had learned from Arcee and Ratchet that while vehicle form, it took the Decepticons longer to scan out his energon signature. And he was suppose to be in hiding until he was called for. So...in his car form, he was stuck.

It took about an hour to even find a road, which happened to be a dirt road, near a rocky mountain, that looked similar to the one the Omega Base had been in. But nothing looked familiar...sort of.

With too much complaining, Smokescreen drove down the darkened dirt road, grimacing as his under carriage kept striking against rocks. He drove as careful as he could until he spied spots of light off to his right. He felt his spark lift up to see some form of civilization. It, however, didn't look any bigger than Jasper had.

"Great. From one dead small town to another. Still don't even know where I am at." Smokescreen murmured in misery as he drove towards the town, only to, Thank, Primus!, find a paved road leading right to it. With a sign.  
Eagle. 1, 142.

"Uh...okay." Smokescreen said frowning to himself before driving right into the darkened town. He looked around and then frowned when he saw a shadow of a tower of some sort. He could barely make out what it said. "Eagle? What the slag?" He murmured. "So I guess this place is called Eagle? Whatever."

Driving down a dark road, Smokescreen took in the entire scenery before venting. It was clearly a small place. He was not going to like being here but it seemed to be a no where town. So maybe it was perfect to hide in until he heard from Optimus or Ratchet.

Though, first things first, he needed a place to recharge. He felt drained of energy from all of the excitement.

"Okay. Let's do this." Smoke screen said as he picked up speed down the road, spreading out his scanner range for a possible shelter. He frowned inwardly to find mostly small buildings that wouldn't be right for him to rest his wheels.

It was another hour before he seemed to have searched the entire town for anything. And by that time, according to his chronometer, it was getting really late at night. And he sure felt over heated from exhaustion.

"Ack. Maybe it won't be so bad to just park on the side of the road and recharge." Smokescreen said tiredly as he found himself slowing down. His sensors and HUD had already flashed warnings at him, threatening to shut him off automatically. He had to over ride them three times already. "Primus, I'm tired. Why not...?"

Suddenly he saw a flashing warning pop up on his HUD, jerking him to full awareness. He twisted his rear view mirror to look behind him and saw what he didn't want to see.

Six dark purple and black Cadillac Ciens with burning red head lights were driving down the seemingly abandoned town road. With them were two largely built Insecticons, merely walking around as if they didn't care if they were seen or not. One of them, a really big, ugly acid green one was pointing his arm around at the very few cars that were even out on the side of the road.

"Scrap! They found me already?!" Smokescreen hissed to himself before peeling out his wheels in a loud screech and clearly catching the Vehicons and Insecticons' attention. He knew he couldn't fight all of them here, in the town where people could get hurt or even see them. And surely he wasn't going to be able to fight them all at once. He distinctively remembered those big bug bots being very hard to fight.

Rule number one when fighting Decepticreeps in human public: Don't. Get to somewhere that humans won't be hurt or see the fight.

'I remembered that rule because Arcee was always yelling it into my face. It was a good thing she is hot because I really hate being yelled at.' He thought to himself.

"An Autobot! After him!" Snarled one of the Insecticons in Cybertronian before transforming and was flying after Smokescreen quickly.

The Vehicons were immediately speeding after, never minding that there were a few lights that had turned on in the buildings surrounding them.

Smokescreen sped down the street, trying to draw the Decepticreeps after him. He had no idea how the frag they found him but he didn't care. He was so ready to pay these glitches back for what they did to the Autobot base.

Glancing back through his mirror again, the young Autobot warrior was only too happy that they hadn't decided to fire at him. They were just chasing him. He could only wonder why they were...

Suddenly, Smokescreen heard a loud blaring horn, forcing his attention back forward and his spark nearly stalled when the first thing he saw was a red light. He had arrived at an intersection and he was about to run through it. He didn't care too much for the human laws of street traffic and all of that slag.

But what he did care about was a large semi truck pulling a large trailer down the road. It was honking its loud horn at him, trying to get his attention as it was coming through the intersection, just as he was.

The first thing Smokescreen could even think about doing was slamming on his brakes.

The second thing he could think of was, "Scrap!" as soon as the semi truck slammed right into his side, sending pain coursing all through his frame as he found himself being thrown onto his vehicle side and being dragged by the semi truck that was still slamming on its brakes.

By the time he and the truck stopped screeching and sliding across the pavement, everything went completely black for Smokescreen. His HUD, his sensory system, his visionary programs, everything shut off into forced shut down.

The Decepticons, on the other hand, immediately halted from their pursuit, just down the road and looked on the scene with alarm. The Vehicons, anyway. The Insecticons were too busy snickering at the sight of an Autobot getting taken down by a human vehicle.

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" The Vehicon, SK33T3R remarked from where he sat down the road.

The other Vehicons would have nodded if they could as they watched truck and smashed Autobot come to a complete stop. None of them were moving. Not the Autobot or the human driver in the truck. But it was clear that the loud commotion had woken up a lot of humans in the area. Lights were flashing on ad windows were being thrown open for the humans to look out.

"Hey! There's been an accident! Call the Sheriff!" A human shouted.

"Uh...what should we do? Finish the Autoscum off?" The Vehicon, P373 asked looking around at the others.

For a moment they just sat there, staring at the Autobot, waiting to see if he'd move. They could see fluids leaking from under him and the tell tale glowing blue energon that ran through all Cybertronians. It was no doubt that the Autobot was hurt pretty bad.

"Nah, let's just go back to the ship. That Autobot is dead anyway. There's no way he survived that. Not with all his energon spilling like that." The leading Vehicon, ST3V3E remarked before starting to drive away with the other five and the two Insecticons following after.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Smokescreen was still alive. Just completely shut down in emergency lockdown until his emergency repair system could kick in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Transformers Prime:** A Friend In Need  
**Rating:** T for some strong language, some violence, gang related situations, and some adult themes  
**Genre:** Friendship/Drama  
**Short Summary:**  
After Season 2 Finale-Smokescreen is alone after escaping the Destruction of the Autobot base and while running from Vehicons, he ends up a terrible crash. What can he do if he can't transform because his T-Cog was smashed? When he gets bought by a girl named Carlee?

* * *

**_::Chapter Two::_**

* * *

"Does anyone know what happened here?"

"No, Sheriff. No one saw what happened. Just the driver and he's got a concussion the size of a pear. Said something about making a delivery out to the factory. And this race car just was tearing up the road outta nowhere and tried going through the light." The young Deputy explained.

Sheriff Blackburn frowned as he looked at the scene before him and grimaced as soon as he got a good look at the vehicles. He didn't like this at all.

The semi truck looked as if it had ran straight way into a brick wall. The entire front was smashed in and crinkled like mache paper while the windshield was shattered completely. It was only luck that the driver had been killed. He was wearing his seat belt, thankfully. That was probably what saved his life.

The car on the other hand...

The Sheriff wandered over to get a better look, where one of his other deputies were checking out the inside. He had to hiss softly as he saw the damage.

The white, silver, red and blue race car, obviously, was a mess itself. The entire passenger side was smashed in and the windshield was shattered as well. It looked as if someone really big had punched the hell out of it. Its engine was still smoking a little but luckily it hadn't caught fire or anything. One of the tires were flat from having metal gorged into it. But other than that, it seem okay.

It could have been...no. It should have been worse. But luckily it wasn't. It was a wonder that no one was killed.

"Jesus Christ. This thing must be pretty tough to only have a dent like that. The truck should have completely destroyed this thing." The Deputy whistled as he looked the car over.

"What make is this? I don't recognize it." Sheriff Blackburn said before walking around to the driver's side.

The Deputy shrugged as he followed. "Uh...I think Conners said it was a Lotus Exige, boss. Don't know what in blooming dales a fancy car like this is doing in a place like Eagle, Nebraska. It might have been here for the upcoming race next week. Or maybe for the car show that's taking place in Plattsmouth. Who knows really." He said scratching his head.

"Not any more it isn't." Sheriff Blackburn said before prying open the driver side door and frowning. "Where's the driver? Did he already get taken to the clinic? How bad was he hurt?"

"No, that's the weird part, Sheriff. When Walter and his boys came running out here to see if any one was hurt, he said it was just the truck driver. There was no one in this car." The Deputy said frowning.

Sheriff Blackburn frowned, himself before looking around at all of the people staring. "No one saw the driver? What did he do? Get out of the car and stumble away?" He asked impatiently.

"I don't know, sir. I already had Zuckerman do a block search to see if there was anyone lying around, hurt. But he found nothing. And no one has seen or heard anything. We can't seem to find the driver for the Lotus, sir." The Deputy remarked.

"Well there's no way this car could have been driving itself! Where's the registration papers on the car?" The Sheriff asked in irritation of details.

Again the Deputy shook his head, grimacing. He knew that the sheriff wasn't going to like this one bit. "There ain't none. This thing doesn't have papers or a license plate. Or anything. It's like this thing isn't even owned by anyone. It just came out of nowhere." He said sounding confused.

"A car doesn't just come out of nowhere, Dillian! It has to come from somewhere or someone. Find out who, what and where!" Sheriff Blackburn said impatiently before slamming the car door shut. He paused for a second, thinking he heard a groan but then shook his head, deciding it was the dead early morning getting to him.

After being called at 2 o'clock in the morning to deal with this, he was just a little edgy.

"Get these vehicles out of here. Have Rusty's come pick this car up and put it off to the side until we know anything about it. If we don't find anything, like reports of it being stolen or if no one claims it, have them do whatever they want with it. And tell Eastwood that he better not mess with it until our investigation is over. That boy has a rep for stealing parts out of the scrap cars and selling them." The Sheriff remarked irritated.

The Deputy nodded as he moved quickly to do just that. He knew what kind of hard man Sheriff Richard Blackburn was. He was a no nonsense, downright serious sheriff who hated half ass work and information. And it didn't help to be up at 3:34 in the morning when he could be in bed getting a little more shut eye before he really had to get up.

Sheriff Blackburn frowned back down at the car before moving to the somewhat crinkled hood. He eyed the white, blue and red vehicle before noticing a strange marking on the hood. A square red face that looked awfully like a robot head.

"Damn street gangs. Always causing stir ups." The Sheriff growled before heading towards his car to get his coffee.

* * *

"Hey, Billy! We got a new one for you!"

A young man in his late twenties groaned from watching the baseball game when his game was interrupted by a familiar voice of Deputy Shithead, so he liked to call him. Billy Eastwood stood up and made his way out of the office, only to freeze at the sight. The Deputy, Officer Dillian Hardings was standing beside the rent-a-tow truck from Rusty's Salvage yard, which was carrying quite the sight.

A white, silver, blue and red race car with the number 38 on the side. Or at least it would have been if one side wasn't smashed to hell.

Whistling, Billy moved closer. "Daaaaaamn. What happened to that thing? Lose big time in a race?" He asked curiously.

Deputy Hardings shrugged as he held up a clipboard for the Salvage worker to sign. "Guess so. Sheriff Blackburn wants this thing off to the side until he says so. We're doing an investigation on the car and it can't be destroyed or salvaged until later." He said wearily.

Billy shrugged signing the paper before handing it back. "Okay, whatever." He said though deep down, he was itching to get under that hood and see what he could pull out and sell. It looked like big money to him. A race car that fancy must have had some nice parts to rip out and sell. "Leave it there. I'll take it back to the garage later."

"Billy, now I mean it. Don't touch it. Sheriff Blackburn is doing an investigation on it. And that means no messing with..." Deputy Hardings was saying.

"Alright! Hell! I won't touch it!" Billy growled at him in aggravation before waving him away.

The Deputy sighed before turning to the car. "Sorry its come to this, big boy. You look like you were a real nice one." He remarked before patting the dented hood and walking towards his partner's patrol car.

Billy sneered at his back, shaking his head. "Stupid dumbass talking to a damn car." He hissed under his breath before moving towards the truck to move the car to the back. He swore it though. He was still planning on getting some of those parts under that hood. It was more than likely worth big money for race car parts from this thing.

* * *

_***Repair Nanites System: at 12%. Activating.***_

* * *

Loud engines revved up through the park way garage as well loud drills going off from power drills. Country rock music was booming away throughout the entire garage, making it hard for some to hear the boss calling.

"Hey! Pete! Pete!" Will Manning yelled over the music at a largely built man working on an old Chevy truck. He moved closer to get his attention, having to tap man's shoulder. "Pete!" He yelled over the loud noise.

Pete, a man in his late forties looked at him before leaning over so he could hear the boss man better. "What?!" He yelled back.

"Where's Car?!" Will Manning yelled.

Pete snickered before pointing across the garage at the last stall where a small white rusted Volkswagen Beetle sat on a lift. "Over there!" He yelled.

Will Manning nodded as he patted the man's shoulder before motioning to the radio and slicing his hand across his neck. He didn't wait for Pete to nod as he walked over. "Car! Hey, Car!" He yelled as he moved closer.

No answer but the sound of a loud drill being used blocked out his voice.

"Car!" Will Manning tried again. But had no success with the loud noise and music going off.

Finally, Pete cut off the radio and waited for the inevitable to happen. He wished he had popcorn because everyone knew not to mess with 'Car's' radio time without getting their head bit off.

"Hey!" Came a shout from under the Beetle before under it scooted the pulley out and sat up. "That was Tim McGraw! Who dares to touch my mus...!? Oh. Hi, dad."

Carlee 'Car' Manning was a young woman of 19 years old. She was considered one of the prettiest girls in Eagle but unlike most of the girls of Eagle, she preferred to be stuck under a car getting oil all over her instead going to a mall to do shopping. She had golden brown hair that she kept in a messy bun and bright green eyes the color of clovers. She was of an average build, perhaps a little curved in all of the right places. But she hid her form under oil and greased up coveralls, though the top half was pushed off her torso and the sleeves were folded around her waist.

Just like her dad, William Lennox Manning, Carlee was a total grease monkey and loved being around machines more than people. The people of Eagle were always gossiping about why a pretty girl like her would rather get down and dirty under a car than spend most of her time cleaner than spring water and doing everything she could to catch a boy's attention. They never could understand her and they probably never would. But Carlee was interested in one thing.

And that was cars and fixing them and maybe being a racer like her dad.

It was Carlee's dream to be a race car driver like Will. She wanted to driver as fast as the car would go, feeling the wind shooting across her skin at 150 miles per hour, letting her semi long hair snap in the air behind her, never minding it getting wild and ratty because of dirt in the air. She loved the feeling of the speeding wind brushing against her skin. It made her feel wild and free.

"Carlee, it's almost two o'clock. Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Will asked sounding amused.

Carlee made a face before sticking her head back under the bug she was fixing. "Dad, I told you. I am not going to Aunt Tammi's. She's throwing a Mary Kay party where they get primped and preened like Beauty Queens at a pageant. I'd rather be here, fixing the Bug than going to that lot of beauty sadists' party." She remarked. "Besides, the bug has a crack in the fuel intakes and it's got to be fixed by tomorrow."

Will laughed rolling his eyes as he leaned against the car next to the bug. "Hon, Aunt Tammi just wants to spend time with you. She hardly gets to when you get busy like this." He said though not sounding too worried about it.

"Puh-lease, dad. She has been trying to sink her beauty claws in me, get me all pretty and set me up for a date with some bone headed jock so maybe I will marry the guy and turn into a dainty house wife so he can come home to a house just in time for dinner and then sit on his butt, watching a foot ball game while I clean the house." Carlee said in aggravation.

"Let me guess she tried talking you into going out with Bobby Drake Williston again, didn't she?" Will asked trying not to laugh.

Carlee immediately was out from under the car, looking annoyed as she stood up and placed her hands on her waist. "Yes! I hate Bobby Drake! He is such a pig! He hits on anything with breasts!" She growled.

Will grimaced, not looking impressed. "Okay. Now I don't like the sound of him." He shrugged smiling again as he reached over and prodded her arm. "Okay, I won't make you go to Aunt Tammi's. But you get to call her and give her an excuse." He paused for a moment before grinning. "Anyway, I have some good news. I talked Bailey into letting you do a trial run." He said in a sing song way.

There was a dead pause before a wide grin spread out on Carlee's face and she squealed as she leapt forward, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "Really?! That's awesome! When can I run?! What car will I use?! Yours?!" She asked excitedly.

Will chuckled but shook his head. "Sorry, baby girl. But no. Bailey wants to see what you're really made of. All of your skills. So that means you have to start from scratch. Best part is, though, I get to back you up on parts that will be needed." He told her.

"So...all I got to do is find a car to rebuild and fix up?" Carlee asked grinning nonetheless.

Her father nodded as he smiled at her. "Yup. You get a car, rebuild it, customize it, rebuild the engine and once it's done, race it in June's Eagle Thunder Tracks." He told her.

Carlee blinked in surprise. The Thunder Tracks was two months away. So that would mean she had two months to find the perfect car and have it ready. She couldn't help but shiver in delight and excitement though. It was her big chance. She was going to be a racer just like her dad.

"Well, in that case! I guess we better go find a car!" Carlee said grinning.

Will grinned back before nodding as he glanced over at Pete. "Pete! Carlee and I are heading out! You're in charge!" He called as he took his daughter's hand and pulled her after him.

* * *

_***Repair Nanites System: 25%. Securing emergency energon back up.***_


	3. Chapter 3

**Transformers Prime:** A Friend In Need  
**Rating:** T for some strong language, some violence, gang related situations, and some adult themes  
**Genre:** Friendship/Drama  
**Short Summary:**  
After Season 2 Finale-Smokescreen is alone after escaping the Destruction of the Autobot base and while running from Vehicons, he ends up a terrible crash. What can he do if he can't transform because his T-Cog was smashed? When he gets bought by a girl named Carlee?

* * *

**_::Chapter Three::_**

* * *

**_*Repair Nanonites System: 45%*_**

* * *

**_*Systems Reboot initiating...*_**

* * *

**_*HUD and Systems on lining...*_**

* * *

**_*Energon fueling systems: 68%...*_**

* * *

Static was the first thing he saw as he started coming online. They danced across his screen as if taunting him as he tried to online his optics. A lightning of pain struck across his lines and he groaned painfully as he slowly drifted out of recharge.

The first thing he could think of was, "Ow."

Smokescreen's optics finally began seeking light as they onlined but to his pained confusion, only one of his optics seemed to be receiving anything. He groaned again, static and sparks erupting from his vocoder. He grunted once before blinking his one good optic, trying to rid himself of the blurry images being sent back to his processor.

'Wh-where...' he thought painfully before he looked around, still seeing blurred images.

He sent a sequence to reroute and readjust his optic before he got a good look at what was sitting in front of him. He jolted a little from surprise and that seemed to be a big mistake. The sudden movement sent a painful jolt through his entire frame.

"Argh...***zsstch!***...ow..." Smokecreen groaned in pain as he stilled himself.

He looked forward again to see a rusted piece of scrap that he supposed was to be a car. He frowned in confusion before looking around again. He was dissatisfied to see many others all around him.

'Wh-what...? What happened?' The Autobot Warrior thought to himself before he turned to his HUD and tried o activate his memory banks.

It was not without some painful difficulty. He received mostly static at first before he replayed the memory. He watched from his own point of view of how he had seen the Vehicons and the Insecticons and started running to get away from them. He winced painfully when he saw himself be slammed into by a large semi truck and then everything went black.

Groaning in pain, Smokescreen shut down his memory banks and took in his surroundings. He spied a sign just over some of the scrap cars and let out a mild pained whine to see what it said.

Rusty's Salvage yard.

It didn't take much thought to realize what happened and where he was. He was in a scrap yard, probably in line to become scrap parts. The humans must have brought him here, not even knowing he was a Cybertronian, a living being.

Oh, no. This wasn't happening. He wasn't going to be torn apart for spare parts. He was not destined to be built into mindless drones or new cars. He was so out of here!

Smokescreen concentrated to turning on his engine and a spark of pain was what answered him. That, and a loud screech of metal rubbing against metal. He groaned in pain from the stab that went through his systems. He tried again but the results were the same.

"Hey! Who's out here?!"

Smokescreen jolted in alarm before going completely quiet when he heard someone shouting. He looked to see a male human come around the corner, a crowbar in hand for using it against thieves. He knew better than to blow his cover in front of humans.

The man was looking around, griping the crowbar tightly in hand as he moved over to where Smokescreen was sitting. He frowned when he didn't see anyone before relaxing. "Huh. I was sure I heard someone fucking with a car." He murmured before looking at Smokescreen.

The Autobot was holding in his intakes, waiting for something to happen. He wasn't sure what to do at this point but watch the human carefully.

The man snorted as he walked right up to the Autobot, beginning to inspect the large dent in the side. "Damn. This piece of shit sure was trashed. Whoever was driving this sure was stupid." He whistled before kicking the side of the car, sending a jolt of pain shooting through the Autobot warrior.

Smokescreen fought very hard not to react in anger or pain as he silently glared. He wanted so much to lash out back at the human but he knew the rules.

"I can't wait to get permission to get under that hood. You have got to have some fancy parts I can sell for big money." The human sneered as he tapped the hood with the bar.

'Over my deactivated frame.' Smokescreen thought savagely.

The human circled the disguised car again before sneering. "Oh yeah. You are going to make me big money, you piece of junk." He chuckled darkly as he turned away from the car.

'Again, I repeat myself.' Smokescreen wanted to snap back.

The human laughed mirthlessly as he walked away, already dreaming of the money coming that he was going to make off of the destroyed car.

Smokescreen growled as he glared after him before turning back to his HUD. He needed to get out of there. And to do that, he needed to get his engine turned on. He turned his engine again but only received choked clicks. He tried it a few times but still nothing.

'Oh, great. You sure did it this time, Smoke.' Smokescreen thought bitterly as he began looking over his damage reports coming over his HUD. He may not have been a medic but he didn't need to be to know that he was fragged.

'I have got to something.' He thought miserably before turning to his communications link. He wondered if somehow he could get Ratchet on the line. *This Smokescreen calling in. Anyone listening? Ratchet? Arcee?* he tried transmitting.

Only static rang back to him.

_*Ratchet, this is Smokescreen. Please copy if you can hear me.*_

Still nothing.

Smokescreen slumped on his tires, looking and feeling miserable. He couldn't get his engine started, be had a flat tire, he couldn't call for help. What the slag was he...Oh!

A light bulb seemed to click on in his processor and he wanted to bang his head against one of these rusted cars. not be able to drive out, but maybe, just maybe he could run out. Never mind attracting attention. He needed to get out of there.

Smokescreen turned his attention onto his transformation program and tried to shift into mech mode.

There was a clicking sound as his frame twitched and rubbed against each part but nothing happened.

'No, no, no, no, no! Come on!' Smokescreen now thought desperately as he tried again and again but couldn't. 'This can't be happening!' He did a quick search on his transformation systems and the results were just as bad as he thought. His T-Cog had been smashed.

In other words, he was stuck in car mode.

Smokescreen groaned loudly as he slumped on his tires, wanting to hang his head. He couldn't believe this. He was in such a mess. He couldn't drive, he couldn't transform, and he couldn't call for help from the others. How could it possibly get any worse?

"Hey! Billy!"

Smokescreen straightened a little on his wheels and looked in the direction he heard the voice coming from. He spied the human from before and an older human, dressed in dirty clothes. He obviously had been working on a machine judging from the oil on his clothes.

The man from earlier looked annoyed at being interrupted from what he had been doing before but it seemed he knew to have some restraint in front of the older man. "Yeah, boss?" He called over.

"I just got a call from Sherriff Blackburn. We've just been cleared to go ahead and dismantle that Lotus Exige that came in two days ago. There's no papers on it and no one is claiming it, so we're getting rid of it." The boss called over to him.

Smokescreen felt as if his spark had stalled at those words. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. _*Ratchet! Arcee! Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Optimus Prime, sir! Anyone there, over! This is Smokescreen! Someone come in! Anyone!*_ he began to frantically say over his transmissions.

"Uh, Mister Deacon, what about all of the parts in the car? Shouldn't we take them out and start selling them or something? I am sure we can." The man, Billy stated.

"Billy, if you haven't noticed, we got way too many spare parts that aren't selling. We don't need more. Stay out the car and destroy it tomorrow. We'll sell the scrap block to a recycle center. And that's it. If I see any parts missing from under the hood tomorrow, you will be held for stealing. Do I make myself clear?" The boss growled.

"Yes, sir." Billy said quite miserably.

_*Anyone out there?! Please, please answer!*_ Smokescreen practically begged over the lines, hoping, urging anyone to hear him and come to his rescue, which was he was sorely embarrassed to admit that he needed.

* * *

Throughout the night, Smokescreen tried again and again to contact the others but he got nothing. He tried turning his engine on and received painful screeches. He tried rocking himself on his wheels and ended up popping another tire on a nail he hadn't noticed on the ground.

Oh, this was definitely not the way he saw himself going. He always thought that he would die a hero, fighting alongside Optimus Rime, fighting Decepticons. He always saw himself becoming something so big that he couldn't even imagine it.

But according to the humans from that day, he was going to end up as scrap parts. tried so hard to do something about it but nothing worked.

It was so very sad.

By the time the sun came up, Smokescreen was in a state of jitters. He hadn't properly recharged as it was. He could barely catch a blink of recharge because of how worried and anxious he felt. He had spent most of the night trying to activate his SOS, not caring if the Decepticons got a hold of it or not. He, unfortunately, couldn't. He tried moving. But he couldn't. He tried to test his vocoder so he could maybe talk out loud to the humans but his vocoder shorted out, much to his distress.

Smokescreen had to officially admit it but he was seriously fragged. He tried everything but nothing was working.

And it made his spark fluctuate when he saw the sun rising over the mountain, making him tremble slightly on his wheels. He was on his last day. He was going to be scrapped in a few short hours. And there was nothing he could do about it.

_*Optimus Prime, sir! Ratchet! Arcee! Bulkhead! Wheeljack! Any one! Please come in!*_ Smokescreen begged on the transmissions line.

* * *

It was official. Carlee was fuming in rage and disappointment. She had been pissed off before but this...this was different. She wanted to take her prized wrench out and bang it against someone's head, namely the guys who ran Raging Ralph's Auto Scrap Cars.

Of all things possible, these guys were idiots.

Carlee and her father had been to five different scrap yards and none of them had decent cars well enough for racing. They mostly had old beaters that wouldn't last well on the race track.

And to top it off, the Ralph guys were like any typical guys, wanting to hit on Carlee, instead of selling her a car.

"Dad! I'm never going to find a car!" Carlee whined as she climbed into his BMW.

Will smiled at his daughter faintly as he climbed in and turned on the car. He paused to tell her to put her seat belt on before driving again. "Relax, Car. We will find the perfect car for you. We still have Rusty's to check out. Maybe they have your car. I promise, we will find your car. Even if we have to leave Eagle and go the neighboring town." He told her as he drove.

Carlee pouted either way, her arms folded across her chest. She knew her father wouldn't give up. He would find her car even if they couldn't in Eagle. The problem was, she had only a month to have the car and have it ready. She was going to have to put a lot of work hours into making it the best.

Sighing, she looked out the window, she watched as the small buildings pass by. She just hoped she could find the just right car for her and soon. She wanted to prove to everyone that she was her father's daughter and be the best racer Nebraska had ever seen.

Pulling up to Rusty's, Carlee wasn't really looking forward to this. She knew that Billy Eastwood worked here and he was one of the guys who had been accosting her, mostly just wanting to get into her pants. He was that kind of guy. And he was her favorite girl to pick on. He loved to hit on her with the crudest jokes and pick up lines. She hated it when he started pulling his 'suave' moves on him and calling her pet names. Every time he did, she wanted nothing more than to smash his face in.

Luckily, her dad was there. Billy wouldn't try anything if he wasn't.

"All right. I'll go talk to Rusty Deacon. You go ahead and go search for a car." Will said already walking away.

Or maybe not.

Carlee shrugged anyway, stuffing her hands into her slightly baggy pants pockets. She could take care of herself either way. If Billy gave her crap, she would dish it right back.

Walking into the scrap lot, she began looking around, not impressed with the cars she was seeing. She grumbled a little as she let her eyes trail from an old bug to a Cadillac. They were so trashed that she knew it would have taken a lot longer than two months to fix up. And either way, they weren't proper race cars. She groaned as she continued her search, looking from rusted and busted car to another. She went line through line, looking for anything that might work.

From a trashed SUV, Carlee looked to what sat next to it; a 1957 Chevrolet truck that was so rusted that it had holes in the sides. She grimaced and looked on to the next vehicle; a Plymouth Barracuda. That wasn't a bad car, if it wasn't missing the back end. Again, she groaned and continued to look on.

From a, 'wow...a Rolls-Royce, nice oldies car.' Carlee thought to herself before going on to looking. She looked from an old beat up 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass to a trashed jeep to a rather beat up looking Lotus Exige to an old 1971 pinto. And then she looked at the 1988 Honda Civic to the...

Carlee halted, her breath catching in her lungs as she realized what she had just seen before she whipped her eyes back to the car she had nearly walked right on by. She couldn't believe her eyes when she looked right at the silver, white and blue with red on the sides car that was dented to hell. It looked as if it had just came out of a rough race and lost terribly.

"No way!" She gasped as she scurried over to the car and looked excitedly at it. She honestly couldn't believe it! Her luck had changed so fast in the most unlikable places. She couldn't believe that this car, a Lotus Exige! "A Lotus!" She said happily as she placed her hands on the dented hood. And she frowned when she felt the car twitch under her palms. She could have sworn it had actually flinched under her touch, that she withdrew her hands. "Uh...sorry?" She murmured and could have sworn that it stiffened on its flat tires as if startled.

"See what you like, honey buns?"

Carlee's face fell at that familiar voice. She wasn't expecting to run into that brainless incorrigible idiot already. She turned with a dry look to see Billy Eastwood walking up with his lecherous grin on his face, his eyes already looking her over. "Billy Eastwood." She said coolly. She really didn't want to deal with him right now.

Billy grinned as he went right up to her and planted his butt right on the car's hood, which Carlee disapproved right there. She was starting to think she didn't want the car with his ass on it. Still it was kind odd when she heard a grinding sound coming from the car. She figured it was Billy's weight abusing its axels. Not that he was fat. He actually wasn't. But the state of the car was another thing. It was in such a state that it couldn't possibly have been able to support any unwanted weight right at the moment.

"So, what're you doing here, sweet legs?" Billy asked in his suppose to be suave way.

Carlee glowered at him with dislike but she folded her arms to keep his eyes off her chest since that was where he was looking. "I am looking for a car to fix up, Eastwood. I am in the race trials for the next two months. So I need a car." She said dryly. 'Not that it's your business.' She added to herself quietly.

Billy snorted as he rapped his knuckles hard on the wood and Carlee could have sworn the scrapped vehicle flinched at the contact. "You? Racing? Puh-lease, sweetheart. You can't race. You're a girl. Girls shouldn't really race. It's too much hassle for them. You really should..." he was saying teasingly.

Carlee glared at him, highly offended by his words. "I can too race if I want! I am my father's daughter! I am the best driver in Eagle, anyhow!" She growled.

"Easy, hon! I am just joking!" Billy laughed, hands raised. He shoved off the car, facing her. "So you thought about this one then? Cause it's a Lotus." He said tossing his thumb over towards the car.

Carlee shrugged. "So? Because it is a Lotus, I want it. Even if I wasn't going to race. Who wouldn't want a Lotus?" She remarked dryly.

Billy snorted before turning his head and spitting, which landed on the hood. There had been another grinding sound from the car and Carlee could almost feel sympathy for it. "Sorry, hot legs. Can't have it. This piece of shit is on the dismantling list. I actually just came to get it prepped up to put in a crusher. Maybe you should keep looking. There's a Camaro over there that would definitely look with your hot little ass..."

"Hey, watch your mouth in front of a lady. And I don't want the Camaro, Eastwood. I want this one." Carlee said bitterly.

Billy glowered right back at her, not happy to get interrupted by her. "Well, you can't have it. Unless..." he grinned again, leaning against the hood again and spat on the car again. "Unless you agree to let me take you out. I can probably get the car for you if you agree..."

Carlee glared hard at him, her chin lifting defiantly. "I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last man on earth! You are so disgusting!" She snapped. "And quit spitting on the car! It deserves more respect than you are giving it!"

Glaring at her now, Billy stood up and moved forward to face her off. "Don't talk to me like that, girl. Little girls like you need to show some respect to your older peers. If you don't watch it, I will not hesitate to smack you...!" He threatened.

"Touch me and I will severe your hand with a three inch torch flame, sleezeball!" Carlee growled, not backing down for a second. She was not afraid of him, nor was she going to show him that she was.

Billy glared down at her, sneering. "You really are a bitch, you know that?!" He snapped into her face.

"Takes one to know one." Carlee growled back before turning away. She wanted to get away from him. He smelled like old sweat and pot. It was if he hadn't showered in days and it was burning her nose just to smell him. "Don't touch my car, Eastwood!" She said dryly as she started to walk away.

Growling, Billy reached out to grab her by her hair. He didn't let any girl talk to him like that or order him around like she was doing. He was going to teach her a lesson that she was never going to forget. "Bitch! Don't walk away from me. I am not done talking to...OW!" He suddenly yelped when his leg bumped the fender of the car, hard.

Carlee whirled around in surprise, just in time to see Billy dropping his hand from near her head and to see the car rolling back a little on its bad tires. She gaped at it for a moment before turning her glare onto Billy. "Were you about to touch me?!" She snapped.

"Yes! I mean...! No! I was...! Stupid fucking car!" Billy snarled before lifting a foot and kicking it hard in the grill.  
There was a loud snap as the grill bent and cracked under his assault.

Carlee gritted her teeth as she glared hatefully at Billy. She wanted so much to just reach over and slug him for hitting the car. She knew better than to fight with an idiot like this though. She already got into trouble for fighting before and her father had made it clear that she couldn't fight anyone unless they were attacking her first. "Hey! Don't hit my car!" She snapped.

Billy whirled around to glare at her. He was seconds from reaching over and slap the hell out of her. "It isn't your car, bitch! And you're not getting it! I'm going to trash it!" He snapped.

Glaring, Carlee shook her head as she turned away from him. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that! Don't touch it!" She snapped as she marched away, wanting to hurry to get her father and Rusty. She didn't trust Billy for one second to leave him with the car for too long. She knew he would try something if she was quick about getting her father.

Practically running, Carlee ran towards the front of the salvage yard, looking for her father, where she found Will talking to the owner about the whole deal about a car. She knew she needed to be quick about it. "Dad!" She called over as she hurried up to him. "Dad! Come quick! I found my car!"

Will looked over amused but nodded as he allowed her to rush up and take his hand. "Car, will you slow it down? I am still trying to..." he was saying.

Suddenly, from somewhere close by, a loud crackling alarm was going off, making all of them frown and look to where the sound was coming from. It wasn't very far and Carlee knew exactly where it was coming from. She immediately swore and booked it, running hard. "Stupid ass...! I told him not to touch it!" She snarled.

Frowning, Will shared a glance with Rusty before they were hurrying after her.

It didn't take long for them to turn a corner only to find Billy Eastwood slapping at the dashboard inside the silver, blue and red Lotus Exige, which was emitting the loud crackling car alarm. He had tower in front of it with chains already wrapped around the front axels and it had been clear that he had started trying to haul the thing out.

Carlee hurried up to the man and glared at him. "Hey! What did I say?! Do not touch this car! That's what I said!" She yelled.

Billy sent her a scathing glare not registering that her father and his boss was there. He just kept pounding on the dashboard. "Oh, shut up, bitch! And I said you can't have...!" He was snapping.

"Hey!" Will yelled now furious that this idiot was insulting his daughter with a terrible name. "Don't talk to my daughter like that!" He ignored the 'Oh shit' look on Billy's face as he whirled around to glare at Rusty. "Is this the kind of employees you have working here, Rusty?! Boys who insult your customers?!" He demanded loudly over the loud alarm.

Rusty was glaring at Billy for his behavior bit he shook his head. "No, Mister Manning! I don't have employees who call customers vulgar names! And if I do, they won't be having their jobs for very long. Billy! Turn that thing off!" He snapped.

Billy frantically began hitting the dashboard harder. "I'm trying, sir! But it won't turn off! God damned car! Shut up!" He snarled hitting harder until the dashboard groaned loudly under his fist. But it still kept going.

Groaning, Carlee stomped over and seized him by the arm, yanking him out. "Move it, Eastwood! You' to break it!" She quickly sank down in the passenger seat and looked around before pushing a button that stopped the alarm to dead silence. "See! You need to treat it nicely! Not bash its dashboard in." She turned to the car again and lightly rubbed the new crack in its dashboard. "Ooohhh. Poor baby. Did that no brain hick hurt you? That's okay. I will make it all better once I get you home." She cooed at the car.

The car seemed to sink a little on its wheels at her words but she paid no mind to it.

Instead, Carlee looked up at her father, smiling as she gripped the steering wheel and rubbed it fondly. "Dad! This is it! I want him!" She said happily.

Everyone gaped at her.

"You are crazy! Calling that car a he?! It's a stupid fucking car! An object! Not a person!" Billy exclaimed looking at her as if she was crazy.

Carlee glared at him, still rubbing the steering wheel soothingly. "Cars have feelings too, Eastwood! You just got to be someone who knows cars to know that! Besides, I can't see this car as a girl! I mean, look at it! It's boyish!" She whirled around to look at her dad as he was already making his examination of the car. "Dad! Can I have this one?! Please!" She begged.

Will, who was surprised, looked the car over, amazed to even see a Lotus Exige in a place like Eagle. He knew the car brand's reputation for having exotically beautiful and very fast vehicles. "Huh. Where did this thing come from? How is a Lotus Exige in a place like Eagle?" He asked looking over at Rusty.

The owner shrugged looking it over. "Honestly? I have no idea. This thing was in a nasty accident just a few days ago. No one knows where it came from. There was no one in it, no one claimed it. It just popped out of nowhere. Sheriff Blackburn wanted us to destroy it if no one claimed it by today." He explained.

Carlee gasped dramatically as she stood up and hurried over to her father, gripping his arm and giving it a little shake. "No! You can't! Dad! This is it! This is my car! Please!" She begged her eyes glistening in frustration and desperation. She couldn't let a car like this be destroyed when it was the first good car she had seen since they began their search. It was her one good chance of living her dreams! Besides, it was an awesome piece of machinery that just needed some TLC to make it as perfect as it had before, before its accident.

Will smiled faintly as he patted her head before looking at Rusty. He knew how she felt about destroying this car. He couldn't allow it. Not to a Lotus Exige like this. It was almost a sin to destroy a nice car like this one. "How much do you want for the Lotus, Rusty?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Rusty grimaced, slowly shaking his head. "I don't know, Mr. Manning. I am suppose to comply with the sheriff's demands. He specifically said if no one claimed it, he said destroy it. I don't want to get into trouble." He said warily.

Shaking his head, Will stepped forward, taking out his pocket book. "You won't. Let me handle the sheriff, Rusty. If no one will claim the car, then I will. Now how much do you want for it?" He said again, willing to put the right amount for the Lotus.

* * *

A little later, after haggling the prices a little, and replacing the trashed tires, Will and Carlee were hooking up the car up to the rent-a-tow truck to be charted away from the scrap yard and taken home. The young adult was practically dancing with joy while her father was laughing in amusement as he made sure the locks were in place before moving over to drive the truck while she would drive his car back.

While the car, on the other hand, vented in relief.

Smokescreen had to admit it but he was definitely grateful for the human girl that just rescued him, and in the nick of time. He had come way too close to being destroyed in a very embarrassing way. He would have rathered having his spark extinguished in a battle with a Decepticon than have a human crush him into a block of metal any day.

Now hopefully the human would she was doing when she began repairing him like she said she was going to do.

Because once he was fixed, he was so taking off to find the others. It was killing him not knowing where they were or if they were safe. Especially Optimus. He prayed to Primus that his long time hero was okay.


	4. Chapter Four

**Transformers Prime:** A Friend In Need  
**Rating:** T for some strong language, some violence, gang related situations, and some adult themes  
**Genre:** Friendship/Drama  
**Short Summary:**  
After Season 2 Finale-Smokescreen is alone after escaping the Destruction of the Autobot base and while running from Vehicons, he ends up a terrible crash. What can he do if he can't transform because his T-Cog was smashed? When he gets bought by a girl named Carlee?

* * *

**_Quick Shout Out:_**

Hey, everyone. Sorry for the slightly long wait for this chapter. It's been really busy these past two weeks and such. But I finally have the next chapter up. Before we get to reading more about Smokescreen and such there was a few questions that was asked that did catch my attention by a few reviewers that I find myself having to answer. Someone pointed out that Smokescreen in Prime isn't a Lotus and perhaps they are right. He doesn't really look like one. However, the information I did look up on Wikipedia for Smokescreen said that he was a Lotus Exige. So I figured that's what he was. I would change it but I kind of don't really want to, so please forgive me. I am just going to leave him as a Lotus.

As for another question that had been asked about the investigation that was supposed to happen, it will actually be revealed in time why it didn't take longer than two days. You just have to be a little patient.

As for how trashed Smokescreen was, yes. He does have a pretty big dent in his passenger side but it's a little more than what it looks like on the outside. Just a little bit. Some of the more serious damages will be mentioned shortly.

That's all for the questions that I really want to answer right now other than the fact that yes, I am kind of basing this story off of the Herbie movie a little bit, though I absolutely hate Lindsey Lohan but I love that lovable but very sentient Volkswagen Beetle. I grew up on those movies as it was. And I am taking several different Transformer human names from other shows and movies and such. The people who does any of the tv shows and movies do it all of the time. So I don't see a problem with why I can't do it either. I doesn't really matter anyway. This is a fanfiction after all and fanfic writers can basically do whatever they want with their stories pretty much. I am a huge Transformers fan but I don't always know certain things that others might. So please forgive me. But I am just going to leave the story the way I am going to write it. I will try and keep up with the main facts but kind of take it in a way I want to take it. If you like what I am doing, that'll be great. If you don't, I apologize but I am not changing anything. Anyway, let's move on to the story! Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**_::Chapter Four::_**

* * *

The Ashford garage was in full activity as soon as Carlee and Will pulled the car inside. The usual workers of their business were in a frenzy when they saw what they had brought back. They were excited about what their boss and his daughter had brought back. Though, the very sight of it had them wincing because of the damages.

"Man! How did you get a fix it up like this, boss?!" Pete asked as he circled the Lotus.

"Sheer luck, Pete. I will tell you that." Will said chuckling as he watched Carlee quickly going over an assessment of the damages on the car. He watched as she wrote down the number of dents in its frame and even concurred with him with what they would need to do with the repairs.

Carlee, after writing down the damages on the outside, then swooped over to the hood and tried to open it. It, however, clicked loudly ad refused to open up. "Dad! The hood is stuck! I need to see the damage on the engine!" She called over to him.

Will nodded and went over to help. He tried popping it but it refused to open. "Hmm." He said with a frown before stepping back and leaning down to look into the crease. He frowned again before sticking his hand inside and fiddled with something. "Okay, I think I...or not. The lock is sticking. It doesn't want to open." He turned to look at one of his younger workers. "Hey, Joey. Get me the steel clippers. We're going to have to cut the latch to get it open. We can...WHOA!" He yelped when the lock sprang open and the hood flipped up on its own. He had to leap back with everyone to avoid getting hit.

Everyone gaped at the hood with alarm, not believing what they saw. They were sure the hood had snapped up all by itself.

"Whoa. What was that?" The young man, Joey asked as he turned from grabbing the steel clippers.

Carlee frowned, still surprised but she shrugged. "Who cares? The hood is up. Maybe 38 just didn't want his hood cut." She said now smiling s she moved forward.

Now, everyone smiled, raising their eyebrows at her. They knew she had a knack for naming vehicles. She treated cars like they were actually people. It was concerning to some but not her friends she worked with in her dad's garage.

"38? Is that what you're going to name your car?" Pete asked with a chuckle.

Carlee shrugged as she placed her hands on the rim of the engine containment. "Just until I come up with something better. I want to call him 38 for now because of the number on the side." She said before turning her attention onto the engine. And froze at the sight. "Whoa!"

Now everyone was looking and they froze to see what the engine looking like.

The car's engine was a rather big, tough looking thing. It had several valves with smoke pipes on the side and fuel lines linked right to it. It was definitely one helluva engine, something they didn't see very often.

"Whoa! This thing looks more like a truck diesel engine." Joey said now bending over it to examine it. "I would say it probably has 400 horse power and it has a fuel injection line. This is definitely a car to race."

Will frowned suspiciously as he began poking around in the hood. "That is not a normal Lotus engine." He barely noticed the car stiffening on its wheels. He paid no mind to it though. "This is definitely a custom made engine. Whoever had this car before, it was definitely illegal on the roads. I should probably call up Sheriff Blackburn now."

Carlee whined as she looked up at him. "Dad! Don't! Please! We just found him. I don't want to lose him before I could even work on him." She said pouting.

Will grimaced as he looked at her but sighed with a slight smile when she tried a puppy dog eyed look on him. "Car, whoever owned this thing was probably doing something illegal." He told her wearily.

"So don't blame the car. Blame the guy who owned him. He's mine now. Besides, we call Sheriff Blackburm, he is going to demand us to take it back to Rusty's to destroy it! You know how much he hates race cars! He wouldn't care less if 38 was destroyed! Please!" Carlee begged, her hands folded together and she actually got down to her knees to beg him.

Chuckling, Will shook his head. He knew she had a point. The sheriff was not a big fast car fan. Which was probably why he tried to have the Lotus destroyed even after two days of it being investigated. If the boot fit, it was more and likely that he didn't even do much of an investigation. "All right. All right. I won't call the sheriff. But once the car is fixed, no excessive driving, okay? No, speeding and annoying the sheriff and giving him a reason to having it destroyed." He told her.

Carlee squealed in happiness as she leapt up and threw her arms around him. "Thanks, dad! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She snapped to attention, her hands on her hips. "All right! Let's get to work, 38! I am going to make you the best race car around!" She cheered happily before practically diving into the hood and checking to see how damaged it was.

* * *

"This is Ratchet to all responding Autobots. I am calling a roll call and status reports."

There was a staticky pause as the Autobot Medic tapped his foot impatiently and with worry. He really hoped that everyone would check in. He was worried about all of them. Especially with the ones without humans; namely only one Autobot who didn't have a human.

And that was Smokescreen.

Not that Ratchet would admit it, but he was worried about the rookie. The kid didn't have enough experience on Earth like everyone else did. He was too reckless and who knew what kind of trouble he would put himself into.

_**'Ratchet, this is Arcee, reporting in. Status is stable. Jack, June and I are settling low in the Northern states.'** _Came the Autobot Femme's reply finally.

_**'Bulkhead, here! Miko and I are okay! Just hiding out in some mountain cabin, here.'**_

_**'Beeeoooop, beep! Whirl! Beeoppp, beeeeep!'**_

Ratchet finally heaved a relieved vent as he heard from his fellow Autobots. He was just so happy to hear from them. Still, there wasn't word from Smokescreen yet and that was concerning. "Thank, Primus. Is everyone all right?" He sent to them.

_**'Like I said, Jack, June and I are fine.'** _Arcee replied.

_**'And Me and Miko are good.'**_ Bulkhead sent.

_**'Beeeeeeeop!'**_ Bumblebee's reply came in, though it was meant to say "Raf and I are good!"

_**'Ratchet, any word from Optimus yet?'**_ Arcee asked through the transmission lines.

Ratchet grimaced as he looked across the underground base that the Government had given him to hide in. It was fairly large enough for many of the Autobots. It wasn't as big as Alpha Omega base had been but it was close.

His cool blue optics fell across the mass of burned and twisted metal that laid on a platform. He didn't know if he should tell the others that Optimus was in critical condition yet. He was only too glad that it had been Wheeljack, much to his annoyance as well, that had found the heavily damaged Autobot Leader and hid him away from the Decepticons until he could get a hold of Ratchet.

"He's...he's all right. I heard from him earlier. He escaped from the base before it exploded and he is hiding away just like the rest of us." The medic lied.

There was an unsettling pause. It seemed to hang over the others for a little while of what he said. But then a few whooshes of relief came over the coms.

_**'Well that's good. As long as Bossbot is okay, I'm relieved.'** _Bulkhead let out. He and the others were unaware of the painful, guilty wince Ratchet let out. _**'How's Jacky? He made it okay?'**_

Ratchet turned his optics over to the medical berth besides Optimus', looking at the white, red and green rogue recharging on it. He knew for a fact that the rogue Autobot was hurting some after being shot down but he wasn't in any danger like Optimus was. "He's fine, Bulkhead. Banged up to scrap but alive. He is here with me." He sent the reply. Then frowned. "I am only picking up transmissions from Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Has anyone heard from Smokescreen?"

There was another unsettling pause as if all of the Autobots considered it.

_**'No, I haven't.'** _Arcee reported, sounding tensed up.

_**'Nope, not a thing from Smoke.'**_ Bulkhead sent sounding worried.

**'Beeeepooooop.'** Bumblebee replied, worriedly.

Ratchet felt his spark flux in worry as he looked off at nothing. He didn't like this. He hoped Smokescreen was okay. "Everyone, start sending transmissions to Smokescreen. We need to know if he is all right." He immediately stated just as worried then opened up a direct channel to the newbie. "Smokescreen, come in. Are you all right? Report!" He called.

The only thing that came back to him was crackling static. It was almost distressing.

Ratchet didn't like this whatsoever. He was worried. Something was telling him that something was terribly wrong, that something had happened to the new guy. "Anything, anyone?" He called to the others.

A trio of negatives came back and none of them sounded relaxed. They were all worried now. Something was wrong. They knew something had happened to Smokescreen.

Cursing under his breath, Ratchet tried to think. He needed to figure out what to do. They needed to find Smokescreen. He could only hope that the Decepticons hadn't found him. "All right. We need to locate Smokescreen. Unfortunately, I don't know where Optimus sent him. So I need everyone to fan out and search for him. His communications must be off line. So we need to find him." He told the others.

_**'Can't you ask Optimus, Ratchet?**_' Arcee asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

Ratchet cursed as he glanced at the Autobot Leader. He knew he would need to be careful with his words. The others weren't ready to know their leader's status right now. "I will try and ask him, Arcee. We still need to be careful with communicating each other. The Decepticons will be watching for us. In the mean time, try and locate Smokescreen and keeping the humans safe. Ratchet out." He said sharply cutting communications before anyone could ask any more.

Growling swear words, Ratchet turned sharply and went to speak to the human government to see if they could be any use to finding their lost Autobot. He was praying to Primus that the young warrior was all right.

"Please be okay, Smokescreen. We still need you in this dark hour." The medic begged silently to himself, hoping the prayers would be heard.


End file.
